Mosquitoes Plague Brookyln and Queens Residents

New York City Health Department sprays pesticides to combat mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are an unavoidable part of summer, but some New Yorkers say they've had enough.

Places like the Rockaways in Queens and Park Slope in Brooklyn have been hit especially hard with mosquitoes this year. That's why the city's Department of Health is spraying pesticides Wednesday and Thursday of this week to combat the pests.

"These folks pay their property taxes just as much as anyone else and they deserve to be able to go out the backyard," said John Gaska with Community Board 14 in the Rockaways.

Gaska also said mosquitoes can carry diseases like West Nile Virus.

But, some environmentalists say pesticides are dangerous and question their effectiveness in combatting mosquitoes.

"They actually kill the mosquitoes' natural predators like dragonflies, bats, and birds and frogs," said Mitchel Cohen with the No Spray Coalition. "The mosquitoes come back stronger after the spraying is done."

But, Gaska said the spraying is necessary to give residents relief from the nuisance of mosquitoes.